The Dead Rabbit — The bar's own drink: Irish malt, vermouth, Chartreuse and four dashes of Orinoco

The Dead Rabbit

The bar's own drink: Irish malt, vermouth, Chartreuse and four dashes of Orinoco

Number of people

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ozIrish Single Malt
    A soft single malt; the bar uses a twelve-year-old
  • 1 1/2 ozSweet Vermouth
    Equal to the whiskey, and a light red one
  • 4 dashesOrinoco Bitters
    Four dashes; the bottle this drink was built around
    Substitute: Angostura, which the bar names as the substitute
  • 2 dashesOrange Bitters
    The recipe says orange bitters without naming a brand
    Substitute: Any orange bitters
  • 1/2 ozGreen Chartreuse
    Half an ounce, and it is doing a lot at that
  • 2 dashesAbsinthe
    Two dashes, not a rinse

Instructions

  1. Add 1 1/2 oz Irish single malt, 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse, 4 dashes Orinoco bitters, 2 dashes orange bitters and 2 dashes absinthe to a mixing glass
  2. Fill with ice and stir until cold
  3. Strain into a chilled coupe
  4. Express an orange twist over the surface and discard it

    Discard it; the drink has enough oil in it already

Technique Notes

Discard the twist after expressing it. The drink already carries four dashes of aromatic bitters, two of absinthe and half an ounce of Chartreuse; leaving a strip of peel in the glass keeps adding oil to something that has quite enough going on.

Why the The Dead Rabbit Works

Four dashes is a lot of aromatic bitters for a stirred drink, and it works because Chartreuse and absinthe are pulling in the same herbal direction rather than against it. The vermouth is there to give all three something sweet to sit on.